Oratories

Generally, may refer to prayer rooms or small chapels suitable for private devotions, but not used for services. In a more specific sense in the Roman Catholic Church, an oratory is a semi-public structure other than a parish church, set aside by ecclesiastical authority for prayer and the celebration of Mass for the benefit of a group of persons, such as a guild or religious community; it is usually relatively small in size, but may be larger than a chapel. It may be located in a rural or urban environment; it may be free-standing or entered via another building. The usage and number of services are defined by canon law. Entry to an oratory is semi-private: it is more private than a church, which everyone of that faith has a right to enter, but it is more public than a chapel, which only the owners of the chapel typically have the right to enter. Oratories seem to have originated from the chapels erected over the tombs of the early martyrs where the faithful gathered to pray, combined with the necessity of having a place of worship for the people in rural districts at a time when churches proper were restricted to cathedral cities.